One of the nation’s highly respected physician leaders and innovators in clinical quality and best practice, evidence-based medicine has joined Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach and Community Hospital Long Beach as the Quality Medical Officer.

Kristin Mascotti, M.D.—who led quality efforts at academic medical centers and teaching hospitals—is known for her contributions to clinical research and medical journals, presentations at medical conferences and many honors and awards. In her new role, she is providing medical leadership and strategic direction to support excellent quality outcomes, best-evidence based practices and innovation. She is also expanding efforts that gained the three MemorialCare Health System hospitals in Long Beach prominence as national leaders, innovators and pioneers in patient quality, safety and clinical excellence.

“Dr. Mascotti is an important addition to our leadership team,” says John Bishop, CEO of Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach and Community Hospital Long Beach. “She has a proven ability to work cross-functionally in team environments to evaluate, develop and implement best practice initiatives that promote excellence across the entire continuum of patient care.”

Dr. Mascotti was recently Vice President of Clinical Quality at University of Minnesota Health, where she led the strategic vision and implementation of quality performance initiatives in partnership with administrative, clinical leadership and front-line staff. An academic health system with more 900 beds, it includes University of Minnesota Medical Center, Masonic Children’s Hospital and outpatient clinics. A champion for quality, she worked to enhance patient-centered care through cultivating a culture of performance improvement, transparency, teamwork, measurement, safety and accountability. She was also an assistant professor at University of Minnesota Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology.

Certified as a Physician Executive from the American Association for Physician Leadership, Dr. Mascotti completes her Master’s Degree in Healthcare Quality and Safety Management from Thomas Jefferson University School of Population Health this spring. Board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, she graduated summa cum laude in biology from University of Wisconsin, received her medical degree at University of Minnesota Medical School, was chief resident at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and completed a Fellowship in Transfusion Medicine at University of Minnesota.

More than two decades ago, MemorialCare was among the nation’s first to create teams of physicians, nurses and other clinicians from across the health system to study, implement and refine dozens of evidence-based, medical best practices throughout the organization. This ensures local communities receive comprehensive, high quality care and has earned MemorialCare hospitals many honors and accolades.

Long Beach Memorial is one of just 5% of U.S. hospitals and the only Southern California community-based teaching hospital recognized for continuous, outstanding dedication to patient safety by maintaining an “A” grade in every Hospital Safety Score evaluation performed by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit of employers and large purchasers of health benefits that grades hospitals twice annually for their ability to prevent errors, injuries, accidents and infections. Additionally, Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital is one of only nine children’s hospitals nationally to appear on Leapfrog Group’s Top Hospitals which combines adult and children’s facilities on one list. In the 2015 grading, Community Hospital also ranked high, receiving “A’ and “B” grades.

Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach and Community Hospital Long Beach are part of MemorialCare Health System, a nationally recognized nonprofit integrated delivery system with top ratings for quality and safety and more than 200 care locations throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. Long Beach Memorial, a major teaching hospital, and Miller Children’s & Women’s, the nation’s tenth biggest children’s hospital, comprise the West’s second largest hospital campus. Long Beach Memorial has been providing compassionate care with the latest state-of-the-art technology for more than 100 years and is the region’s first choice for comprehensive care in virtually every medical and surgical specialty. Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital provides specialized pediatric care for children and young adults, with conditions ranging from common to complex—as well as maternity care for expectant mothers—all under one roof and is known for its highly respected Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Perinatology Program. Community Hospital Long Beach has been providing personalized top-quality medical care since 1924, offering state-of-the-art imaging, comprehensive cancer care center, cardiovascular diagnostics, behavioral health, occupational medicine and more. Visit MemorialCare.org and MillerChildrens.org for more information.